Case: Mystery Guest

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Ready to observe and evaluate like a pro?

07-07-2025 288 views 0

Mystery Guest

Everyone experiences events — big or small, planned or spontaneous.

From your aunt’s wedding to lively city festivals, buzzing concerts, open days at school, and community get-togethers. In a vibrant, multicultural city, you’ll find music festivals, colorful cultural celebrations, tasty food truck fairs, thrilling sports tournaments, open mic nights, inspiring art exhibitions, and friendly block parties.

No matter the event, one thing’s for sure: they all bring people together.

Events generally fall into three categories:

Private events, such as weddings or birthday parties
Public events, like festivals or concerts open to everyone
Business events, including conferences, trade fairs, or product launches

No matter the type, events share a similar structure and require careful organisation to succeed. This includes planning, managing resources, coordinating teams, ensuring safety, and communicating effectively.

In this assignment:

You will choose your own event to attend as a Mystery Guest.
During your visit, you will observe and evaluate key aspects of the event experience.
Based on your observations, you will make practical suggestions to improve future editions.

Why this assignment matters
Observing an event in detail helps you understand the complexity behind its success. As a Mystery Guest, you gain insights into how different elements combine to create a safe, enjoyable, and well-run event. Your observations will form the basis for a short report and practical recommendations.

Proof of attendance
Participation in a physical event visit is required.
To confirm your visit, you must upload at least 3 photos of yourself at the event when you submit your work via the ‘Core’ form.

Tags:

event management

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Assignments for students

Long story short
You will attend an event as a Mystery Guest to observe and evaluate how it is organised and experienced. Using key themes from event management, you will rate different aspects of the event, and write practical recommendations for improvement.

What to do?

Prepare by familiarising yourself with the key themes of event management.
Attend an event of your choice as a Mystery Guest.Choose an event type that suits you and fits your interests.Examples include music festivals, cultural heritage celebrations, food truck gatherings, sports tournaments, open mic nights, art exhibitions, and community block parties.It doesn’t matter if the event is free or paid — for this assignment, either is fine!
Use the following key areas as a guide for your observations during the event. When you click on the ‘Core’ tab, you will find a form to rate each area on a 1 to 5 star scale and add brief comments:
– Location
– Programme
– Materials and Facilities
– Safety
– Catering
– Organisation
– Communication
Based on your observations and ratings, write a report including 3 to 5 practical recommendations for improving the event.
Upload at least 3 photos of yourself at the event as proof of your visit. You will be prompted to upload these files when you access the ‘Core’ tab.

Criteria

Recommendations

Pass: You provide 3 practical and relevant recommendations based on your observations.
Merit/Distinction: You provide 4 to 5 practical and relevant recommendations based on your observations.

Submission instructions

Submit your completed rating form and recommendation report via the Core form. You can share the PDF with your teacher or mentor or save it in your portfolio.
Remember: You must upload at least 3 photos of yourself at the event as proof of your visit.

Core assignments for students

Discover whether you master the essence of this case by completing the corresponding core assignments. If necessary, you can share your answers with your teacher or supervisor.

Mystery Guest

Use this form to submit your Mystery Guest assignment. You’ll provide event details, rate the experience, and write your recommendations. You must also upload at least three photos of yourself at the event as proof of attendance.

* required fields

Step 1 of 2

Instagram

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Your name*

First Last

Your email*

Are you responding on own behalf or on behalf of a group (of students)?*

On my own behalf

On behalf of a group (of students)

Enter the first and last names of all group members

1a. Event Details | Name of the event:

1b. Type of event (public / private / business):

1c. Date of event:

1d. Location (city + venue):

2. Event Context*

Please provide context: What is the event about?

3a. How would you rate the Location of the event?*

Think about accessibility, atmosphere, and suitability for the type of event.

3b. How would you rate the Programme?*

Consider content, structure, timing, and variety.

3c. How would you rate the Materials & Facilities?*

Think about signage, seating, toilets, technical support, equipment, etc.

3d. How would you rate Safety at the event?*

Consider crowd management, visible staff, emergency planning, and overall feeling of safety.

3e. How would you rate the Catering?*

Look at variety, quality, pricing, and availability of food and drinks.

3f. How would you rate the Organisation of the event?*

Think about flow, signage, staffing, and overall coordination.

3g. How would you rate the Communication?*

How would you rate the Communication? Consider announcements, signage, online info, and updates before/during the event.

4. Recommendations*

Write three to five practical suggestions for improving the event.

5. Self-assessment: How do you rate the quality of your recommendations?

Select all that apply to your work.

They are limited or general. I found it difficult to come up with clear suggestions.

They are okay. I think they reflect my observations, but there’s room to improve.

They are strong. I’m confident they are relevant, specific, and useful.

Do you want to add any other information, relevant to this assignment? If so, keep it short.

Photo upload – Proof of attendance

Upload at least one clear photo of yourself at the event to confirm your physical presence. This helps verify that you attended and participated as required.

Drop files here or

Accepted file types: jpg, gif, png, pdf, Max. file size: 256 MB, Max. files: 1.

Photo submission online - Proof of attendance

Photo submission online Share a link to your online photo album or gallery (e.g., Google Photos, Dropbox). Before submitting, ensure the sharing options are correctly set so the link works properly. Be aware that some links may only be valid for a limited time — check that your link will remain accessible. Your photos should clearly show that you attended and participated in the event.

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